Oil prices have remained largely stable due to strong global demand after falling for two consecutive days earlier this week.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 increased 7 cents, or 0.1%, to trade at $61.03 a barrel, while Brent crude futures LCOc1 edged up by 1 cent to reach $64.90 per barrel, according to Reuters.
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However, soaring US production continues to restrict oil prices.
Signs of healthy demand emerged from a projection made by OPEC that oil consumption is set to register a growth of 1.62 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.
Meanwhile, US crude output C-OUT-T-EIA increased last week to 10.38 million bpd, which represents a rise of more than 23% since mid-2016.
Commercial crude inventories C-STK-T-EIA also jumped five million barrels to touch 430.93 million barrels.
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By GlobalDataBrokerage Phillip Futures was quoted by the news agency as saying in a note: “Surging US output levels will continue to undermine OPEC’s efforts for stronger oil prices.”
Data released by OPEC pointed to a potential rise in non-member oil supply by almost two times when compared to the projection made four months ago.
Supply from non-OPEC producers is expected to be 1.66 million bpd this year, which exceeds the projected demand and indicates a potential oversupply in the market.
The prediction that the likelihood of an abundance of supplies may force the OPEC-led group to consider extending the time period of output cuts.
OPEC and Russia have been engaged in supply cuts since January last year to help stabilise the oil market.
